


Uncharted - The Fortune Below

by juryandjudge



Series: After The Fact [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Rafe Adler, i don't know if i'll mention it too much but realized i forgot to tag it, if i am writing rafe just assume he is trans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juryandjudge/pseuds/juryandjudge
Summary: After the fiasco that was the search for Henry Avery's treasure, Rafe had thought he managed to get away with his life (barely) and hoped that the Drakes thought him dead. But when did Rafe ever get what he wanted? When he bumps into the trio and finds out what they're after, he ends up assisting them in their search. Rafe just hopes that Nadine doesn't murder him and that Sam doesn't abandon him... again.Sam is confused, Nadine is angry, Rafe is tired, and Chloe is amused.***Set around 3-6 months (the timeline is kinda wonky but bear with me) after the events of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. These nerds get up to some long lost city hunting!NOTE: I will be updating sporadically when I have art block! Just a warning.
Relationships: Chloe Frazer/Nadine Ross, Rafe Adler/Samuel Drake
Series: After The Fact [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907710
Comments: 23
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1 - A New Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> I just wanted to say that I haven't written anything like this in quite a long time (and just haven't written much in general recently) and have no beta, so apologies if the writing isn't the best. I'm trying my hardest! When rereading my work, I can definitely see some mistakes, but can't quite figure out how to fix them.  
> I hope whomever comes across this fic enjoys, and I promise that I am going to finish this (unlike so many other writing works I've done).  
> Also I was inspired by some other Uncharted fanfics on here and some fun headcanoning to choose the surname that I did for Rafe's new identity.  
> This first chapter is relatively short as I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and figure out how to set things up.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> -jaj

“Shit-” Rafe cursed, burning his tongue as he sipped his cup of coffee. He held the back of his hand up to his mouth and opted to wait and drink it at work instead. Grabbing a napkin from the counter, he strolled out of the cafe and onto the sidewalk.

As he opened the door, Rafe’s ears were immediately struck with the cacophony of the city. He made his way down the street, casually observing those he came across. A mother pushing her child down the sidewalk in a stroller, an elderly couple walking their dogs, a group of friends laughing and chatting outside of a shop. Rafe smiled softly to himself as he continued down the sidewalk towards his destination.

While the walk from his flat, to the coffee shop, and to his work was relatively short, it always took a lot out of him, especially after the events of the previous year. Having a large pile of heavy treasure fall on top of you in a burning pirate ship was never good for the body or the soul. Rafe was (somehow) living proof of that. And he was left with more than a few scars and less limbs than he had when he first walked on that damned ship.

Some Shoreline soldiers found him like a drowned rat but still, somehow, alive. They brought him to the shore and to a hospital, hoping to swindle some more money out of him, but that didn’t happen. He had been in a coma, and the men eventually left him there. For four months, he didn’t wake, until one day, he just did. The doctors had explained what they had to do and the treatment he got. They had to amputate both of his legs around the knee, as they both were almost pulled off his body from the weight of the gold and damaged beyond repair. And there was a lot of scarring from the burns that had required skin grafts. The scars trail up the right side of his body and the right side of his face. The doctors didn’t bug him about what had happened after the first time they asked and he refused to answer. He was given the option of a wheelchair or prostheses, and Rafe went the latter route, as he had the money and preferred being able to walk. It was… a lot to take in, but Rafe took it surprisingly well. He went to his physical therapy with no complaint (despite the pain) and dealt with all of the poking and prodding from the doctors. After surviving what he did, he desperately wanted to turn his life around.

The months that followed were difficult. His lung capacity was not as good as it used to be, all thanks to the lovely smoke of the burning ship and practically drowning. Then phantom pains and the feeling of phantom limbs. He felt like he could still move his toes like he used to, as if his feet were still there. Then there was the pins and needles feeling, like when your leg or arm falls asleep. It also took him a bit to trust putting his weight on the prosthetics. The doctors would have him alternate at first, seeing his worry with putting his weight on both. Eventually he worked up both the strength and courage to walk on both. It felt like a step in the right direction, and he was actually proud of himself. Despite the pains and feelings he still gets, he’s happy. He sometimes forgets he doesn’t have legs and when he wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or something along those lines, he almost falls out of bed.

After getting out of the hospital, he needed to kill Rafe Adler. He wanted a new life. He managed to get a death certificate, having him reported dead. He liquidated his company, not wanting anything to do with it any longer after it had been thrust upon him by his father, created a new identity (and bank account of course, he wasn’t just going to let go of all his money). Rafe isn’t sure what got into him. Whether he thought the irony funny, or for some reason was inspired by those stupid Drakes, he ended up taking the surname Avery. Rafael Avery. He likes to think it was the former, as he doesn’t want to even think about the Drakes for as long as he lives.

Eventually, he moved to London. He visited often as a child and sometimes as an adult for business. As he was fairly familiar with the area and wanted to be far away from the Drakes and their cohorts in America, it seemed like the best option. He didn’t necessarily need a job, as he had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, but he needed some direction in his life. He was surprised with himself as he managed to get a job at a library, just named the British Library (he wishes they had been more creative).

As if right on cue, Rafe had finally arrived at his work, hurrying inside to escape the cold and finally drink his coffee. He greeted the person running the head desk with a nod and rushed back to the employees room to ready himself for the work day.

***

“I’ve got a job!”

Nadine glared at the man across from her, not appreciating how loud he was being so early in the morning. Chloe rubbed the ex mercenary’s back sympathetically and tuned in on what Sam had to say.

“Well, don’t leave us hanging. What’s the job about?” questioned Chloe. Sam let out a sheepish laugh.

“W-uh, I don’t have much on it yet, admittedly, but-”

“Then why call a meeting if you don’t have shit, Drake?” Nadine scowled at the man. The man in question put his hands up placatingly. The two hotheads have been getting better at talking to each other and actually consider each other friends (though neither will admit it), but that didn’t mean Sam wanted to bug Nadine when she was tired and annoyed.

“I mean, we still have to do some research, but lately I’ve been looking into Arthurian legends,” he began, “Y’know like, King Arthur and all that. And I’ve come across the story of an old kingdom called Lyonesse. It’s said to be the place for the last battle of Arthur and Mordred!” He waited to see the two’s reaction, but there wasn’t much. “Ah, guessing you guys aren’t too familiar with that, huh?”

“No, not really our place of expertise,” Chloe purred, glancing over at her partner, “But, sounds interesting. What happened to it?” she asked. Sam grinned.

“See, that’s the crazy thing! It’s said that around the year 1089, an insane storm struck the land and it all fell into the sea. Only like, one dude survived and he rode away from the city as it collapsed into the ocean.”

“So, like Atlantis?” grumbled Nadine.

“Uh-I guess? Huh, I didn’t really think of that.” Sam rubbed the back of his head, “But it’s supposed to be somewhere in the UK, and I thought it’d be worth looking into. I will warn you that there’s no guarantee we will get anything out of this, but I’m bored and tired of being shot at by some power hungry asshole,” he shrugged. “So, what do ya say? Sully can give us a ride so we don’t have to pay for plane tickets or anything, just a place to stay at while we're there.”

The two women looked at each other, as if they were having a conversation in their heads. Nadine sighed and Chloe grinned and nudged her with her elbow.

“Yeah sure. Sounds like fun!”

***

Rafe adjusted his glasses, rereading the binding of the book and placing it in it’s designated spot on the shelf. He moved the cart down the aisle, lost in thought.

“Rafe! Hello,” a soft voice laced with an Italian accent spoke from his right. He turned, smiling at the man in front of him.

“Hello, Jericho. How’s the research been going?” he gestured to the books in his hands, “Any new things about the city of lions?” Rafe had become interested in the tale of the lost Kingdom of Lyonesse, and one day Jericho had come by the library in search of books about the city. Rafe, being dubbed the Lyonesse expert of the library, had assisted the archeologist with his research. They’d grown to be friends since then.

Jericho shrugged slightly, fidgeting with a strand of hair from his afro. “Nothing that new. And even if I did, it’s not like there’s anything I could do about it,” he side eyes the books in his hands and checks the time on his phone. He mumbled out a curse, “Ah, I have to go,” he smiled in apology, “I have, uh, a meeting with a friend, and I need to go check out these books.” Rafe nodded in understanding.

“No worries, next time you come by, let's talk for a bit. Maybe we can pick each other's brains and figure out some more theories,” he gave the man a thin smile.

“Right! It’s been a while since we’ve sat down and chatted,” Jericho smiled back, “Anyway, it was nice talking Rafael. Arrivederci!”

“Bye Jericho.”

The two men waved goodbye to each other and Jericho left Rafe alone with his books. He mumbled softly to himself.

“Back to work...”


	2. Chapter 2 - Ghosts From The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio touch down in London to continue their research and run into someone long thought dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Focused mostly on the trio through the majority of this, but Rafe is here. Things will definitely start picking up.  
> Sorry about not updating for a while. I'm not really a writer so sometimes I have a hard time motivating myself, but I finally managed to while watching some documentaries.  
> I did write this all out on my phone and I am notorious for never editing my writing (my teachers likely have some qualms with that) so apologies in advance for any grammar/spelling/etc mistakes.  
> edit: chapter posted weird and added extra spaces between each paragraph, sorry if that looks weird but i don't mind how it looks, so i don't plan on editing it unless it really bothers folks.

With one last puff from his cigarette, Sam dropped the butt onto the dock, stomping it out with his shoe. He cracked his neck and let out a sigh. The sun was just barely rising, but the sounds of the city managed to still fill the air. 

Footsteps approached Sam from behind, but he didn't bother turning around quite yet.

“The ladies, if you can call them that,” a little chuckle escaped the man, “already got their supplies on the plane. You ready to head out?”

The elder Drake peaked over his shoulder, a grin on his face.

“Yeah, Sully,” he took one last look at the sunrise before turning to face the older man, hands in his pockets, “London, right?”

***

Despite being on plane rides a lot longer than 7 hours, the crew was exhausted by the time they landed in London. With some assistance from Sully, the three managed to get to the hotel they would be staying at. Nothing too costly, for they needed to save their money if they wanted to keep doing this, but nothing that would  _ hopefully _ not have bedbugs.

After successfully checking in and Sully making sure they had everything, the three finally took some time to relax in their hotel room. Chloe flopped down on her and Nadine’s shared bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Finally,” she mumbled into the pillows, letting out an ‘oof’ as Nadine dropped herself onto the other side of the bed. Sam followed suit, falling onto his back on his bed. The silence was broken when Nadine spoke up.

“So. What’s the plan? You’ve been pretty sparse on the details, Drake.”

Sam sat up, the exhaustion of the flight easily forgotten and a grin split across his face. 

“Okay, yeah, so-” he twisted around so he was facing the other bed, “So, we’ve pretty much gotten as much info as we can get from the internet, and from what we’ve looked over, we know the kingdom is somewhere here in the UK,” he waved his hands around. “Well, lucky us, one of the biggest libraries here has quite a collection of old Arthurian literature, which obviously includes Lyonesse. I’m pretty sure the kingdom is somewhere in Cornwall, but I want to double check. So the plan is we go there and-” Sam was cut off by a groan that sounded from Chloe.

“Yes yes, I know we’re here to do work,” she rolled onto her side so the others could hear her better, “but can we  _ please _ take a break and rest? We have all the time in the world to work on this since no one is chasing after us this time.”

Nadine made a bit of a face before relenting. “She’s right. As much as I don’t want to, we should use this time to take it slow and make sure we know what we are doing, Ja?” She turned to Sam.

He sighed and shrugged.

“Fine, fine. But when we get up, we are heading to that library, Capeesh?”

“Whatever, Drake.”

***

Sam whistled as the three strolled into the building, but was quickly shushed by the other two. He put his hands up in surrender, turning his attention to the scenery around him.

After getting some coffee and pastries into them, the three taxied over to the library. And God, this was a  _ library _ .

Rows upon rows of books lined the white and gold walls. Desks and tables covered the floor for those who wanted to do research on a computer or sit down and read their selections. There were balconies above the first floor with more walls of bookcases. It just kept going up and up. Some people were milking about. It wasn't completely packed, especially the section of the library that the three entered, but there were still a decent amount of folks milking about. This wasn't even the only building that was a part of the library. Their collection was huge.

“May I help you?”

Sam, Nadine, and Chloe turned around as they were greeted by an elderly woman. Her grey hair coiled down the sides of her tan face and her eyes crinkled as she smiled at the group.

“Do you have something in particular you're looking for? Or are you just going to look and see what peaks your interest?” she asked.

Sam perked up, “Actually, I heard you carry a lot of Arthurian tales, and was wondering if you had any in particular about the Kingdom of Lyonesse?”

The woman quirked an eyebrow. 

“Lyonesse, eh? Let me see if there's any in right now. There's someone who I know has been checking out quite a few of those.” She gestured for them to follow her to a desk, and there she started searching the library database. 

Nadine bumped the two beside her, “Did she say someone's been checking those out a lot?” Chloe shrugged.

“Nothing we need to worry about, I think. Probably some kid who’s gotten themselves fixated on it.” She pointedly looks at Sam, “Kinda like someone else we know.” The man in question huffed.

“I still think that's something we should keep in mind-” Nadine started, but her whispers to the others was cut off by the librarian.

“Oh-sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid all books focused on Lyonesse have been checked out. My apologies,” she bowed her head a bit. The groups excitement deflated, not wanting to have to wait for whomever to return those books. As the short woman looked at the trio, her expression turned thoughtful. “Hm, you know… we don't have any books on site, but there's a librarian here who happens to be quite the expert in those stories, if I remember correctly?”

“Really?” Sam asked, quickly getting his hopes up again. She nods.

“Mr. Avery started taking an interest in it once he started working here just a while ago. I’m sure he's got all those books memorized at this point. Would you like me to see if he's free to speak with you?”

“Oh yes please!” Sam replied. Chloe snorted and Nadine rolled her eyes at his excitement. The librarian smiled at the crew and nodded. 

“Right, yes, follow me! I think I know where he should be.” They began following her again, through the aisles of books until they reached a door marked ‘ _ Staff Only’ _ . She pushed through and yet again gestured for them to follow behind her. They continued down the hall until they stopped in front of what seemed to be a little office. She motioned for them to stop and wait outside. “Let me check with Mr. Avery first.” She knocked, and a voice sounded from within, letting her know she can come in. She went inside and closed the door behind her.

The three waited outside, hearing some muffled voices from the two inside the room and some laughter scattered here and there. Suddenly the door opened and the elderly woman was there with a gentle smile on her face. 

“You three can come in now, Mr. Avery would be happy to speak with you.” The three followed her direction and walked in.

As Sam looked up, he stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with someone he long thought dead. He felt Nadine tense up beside him, but Chloe didn't have much of a reaction, all things considered.

There stood Rafe, but his expression gave little away. He held eye contact with Sam, then his eyes quickly darted to Nadine before he turned back to address the woman. 

“Ah, thank you for checking in Ms. Shelby. If I don't see you before you leave, I hope you have a good day. And make sure to tell your partner Charlie I say hello.”

The woman, whom the group now knew as Ms. Shelby, nodded eagerly. 

“Oh, of course Rafael! I hope you have a lovely day as well.” And with that, she waved goodbye at the four and shut the door behind her.

Things were silent for a moment as they all stared at each other. The silence was shattered though, as the sound of Chloe clearing her throat broke everyone out of the trance.

“Um, hello? What's up with you lot?”

Nadine squinted at Rafe and clenched her jaw. “How the hell are you alive, you sniveling little bastard?” Rafe let out a mocking laugh at that.

“Oh that's rich coming from you.”

“What-what, uh, how… What the fuck?” Sam sputtered out, far too confused to even think about being angry at this moment. Rafe leveled Sam with a seething stare.

“What’s wrong, Samuel? You look as though you've seen a ghost.” He gave him a wry smirk. Nadine stomped towards him, looking as if she was ready to give him a good uppercut, but was stopped by a gentle hand on her upper arm. She turned around to face Chloe.

“Okay, okay, wait. Can we take a moment and step back? I am… utterly confused,” Chloe let out a little laugh, trying to defuse the situation. “So you all know each other? Care to catch me up?” She winked. Nadine huffed, but leaned slightly into the other woman.

“Chloe, meet Rafe Adler-”

“Avery.” Rafe corrected. Nadine furrowed her brow.

“What.”

“I'm not an Adler. Not anymore. Legally, Rafe Adler is dead.” Sam shuffled slightly off to the side awkwardly.

“So you chose Avery?” Asked Chloe, trying to be some kind of mediator. Sam made a noise at that.

“Wait, wait, wait, Avery? Like, Henry Avery?” Sam asked in disbelief. Rafe made a conflicted face at that.

“Well, it seemed fitting, all things considered.” Chloe made an understanding noise.

“Ohhh, you're that rich asshole that they thought were dead. Yeah, okay, no they told me about you.” She laughed. After that, the conversation trailed off into an uncomfortable silence. 

Sam stares at the man in front of him. He looked so different, but at the same time, so similar to the man he had known before. Rafe kept a similar hair style, but just a bit longer on the top. He now wore a basic pair of rectangular glasses (Sam knows he had previously worn contacts; Rafe just preferred them at the time) and the right side of his face was scarred from what one can only assume was from the fire and the fact that a large amount of gold collapsed onto him. Sam knew the scarring probably trailed more down his body, but you can't see much from under the black turtleneck the brunette man was wearing.

A quiet ‘tch’ broke Sam from his thoughts and he focused back on the world around him.

“Well, you three are here for a reason, yes? Ms. Shelby mentioned Lyonesse,” he walked back around his desk and sat down, adjusting his glasses. “Am I correct with my assumption that you are searching for the lost kingdom?” He stared up at the trio. Chloe nodded quickly, deciding she wanted to do most of the talking so nothing…  _ violent _ happened. Sam huffed, now that the confusion blew over (not completely, Rafe still hadn't answered how he was alive), his mind settled back on seething anger.

“You know what- we’ll be fine, actually. We don't need your help. I'm already pretty sure that Lyonesse is somewhere in Cornwall and-”

“It's not in Cornwall.” Rafe cut him off, staring at the elder Drake brother in front of him. Sam glared.

“What?”

“I said it's not in Cornwall. It's somewhere else, and I happen to have a pretty good idea where,” the librarian sat back in his seat, placing his hand on his chin, “and you need my help.” Nadine laughed.

“Oh, really? And what do you want out of it, Adler?”

“Avery.”

“Avery- whatever. What do you want out of this?” Rafe hummed softly before tapping his pointer finger of his right hand on the desk. It made a clicking sound, not what you normally hear when someone taps a finger against something. Sam drew his attention to it, noticing quickly that it was a prosthetic. He managed to keep his shock off his face, focusing back on the conversation.

“I want in.” Sam choked in disbelief.

“I- what?! No way, absolutely not,  _ never again _ .” Rafe turned his gaze towards Sam, the man doing everything in his power not to cower under such a powerful stare.

“Face it. You need me, and if you really find Lyonesse, you can find me here tomorrow at 9 AM,” he quickly wrote down an address, handing it to Chloe. She took it with a grin and waved it in the air. 

“You, sir, have a deal!”

“What?!” Cries out Nadine and Sam. The other two in the room ignored them. Rafe gave Chloe a flat smile.

“Perfect. I'll see you three tomorrow. We can chat more then,” he waved his hand at them, “Now get the fuck out of my office.” Chloe waltzed out, dragging the other two by their arms and shut the door behind them.

“What just happened?” Asked Sam, incredulously.

“Frazer just made a deal with the Devil.” Nadine grumbled out. Chloe laughed at the two of them.

“Oh, come on. What's the worst that could happen?”


	3. Chapter 3 - An Unlikely Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt for Lyonesse begins! Bonding, tension, and idiots being idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i am still alive <3  
> i've been having absolutely awful art block and decided to finally get to some writing. as of these notes, only writing one chapter right now, but if this art block keeps up (which it likely will) you can assume more should hopefully show up. i may write a one shot for another fandom outside of this (maybe reanimator, criminal minds, or rdr2? we shall see) so if you're into those maybe keep an eye out :]  
> if you can't tell, describing rooms and environments is not my strong suit, and the end got kinda messy because i started getting very tired  
> it's real late as i am writing this as my insomnia has been getting worse and worse, so apologies for any grammar, spelling, and whatever else mistakes. i am not the best writer when it comes to those, just doing this for fun! <3 but i am trying to improve since i want to actually challenge my brain during this gap year that i've been in  
> n e way i hope you all had a lovely holidays and an awesome new year :]]

“This is such a bad idea,” mumbled Sam as the trio stepped out of a cab and onto the sidewalk. Chloe waved her hand dismissively at him, paying the driver.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad. Some rich guy wants to fund our little adventure and all he wants is to tag along? He could have asked for something worse,” she said, making her way down the sidewalk towards the address Rafe had given them the day before. It was a quaint little coffee shop at the corner of the busy street. Despite that, it seemed that there wasn’t too much traffic in the cafe.

“This is as awful as it can get!” Sam exclaimed, “He tried to kill us,” he gestured to Nadine and himself, “and Nathan over fame.”

“He’s also just insane,” Nadine added. Chloe just smiled and bumped shoulders with her, causing a small smile to appear on the ex mercenary’s face. Sam made a groaning noise that was ignored by the two women. 

The group walked up to the door, stopping just outside. Sam idled for a moment.

“I… don’t want to go first,” he mumbled. He shuffled a bit as the other two rolled their eyes in unison.

“Baby,” Nadine grabbed the door handle and walked in, Chloe, and then Sam, right behind her. 

Walking into the little cafe, the group was immediately hit with a comforting warmth and the smell of pastries and roasted coffee. Various rustic bookshelves lined some of the walls with all kinds of different genres of books lining the shelves. Looking around, one could see the few people that were in there enjoying their beverages and a book or newspaper in the plush chairs. And in one corner of the shop was Rafe, sitting there reading his own book with a cup of tea in one hand. Hesitantly, the treasure hunters made their way over. 

“Glad to see you decided to meet,” Rafe drawled, not even glancing up from the pages of his book, “If you want to order something, you can go up to the counter, I’ll cover it,” he looked up, locking eyes with Sam for a moment before looking back down, “I know how you get when you don’t get your coffee this early.” Sam scrunched his face before hurrying his way to the counter. Chloe and Nadine gave each other a look and followed after him.

After everyone was settled with their drinks, Rafe finally set down his book, placing his bookmark in and setting it down with his bag on the ground. “Alright, first off; terms and conditions, I’ll start.”

“Wait a minute-” Sam began, but Chloe elbowed him in the side, effectively cutting him off with an ‘oof’. Chloe signaled for Rafe to continue.

With a small smile, Rafe began, “Now, first off, I don’t care about the fame this time, or the money. I just… I don’t care. And I understand that may be hard to believe all things considered, but I don’t. I don’t want a repeat of what happened before,” he stared Sam down, who refused to make eye contact, before continuing, “I just want to do some actual treasure hunting, and take the time to enjoy it this time around. Lyonesse has become something of a hobby of mine as I’m sure you know, so that fact that you all were here searching for it as well makes this a very interesting coincidence,” he put his hands on top of each other and shrugged.

“Is that all?” questioned Nadine, skeptical. Rafe thought for a moment before nodding.

“Basically. I just request that I don’t end up with your gun to the back of my head,” the librarian snarked. Nadine scoffed.

“You deserved that and you know it.”

“Oh I definitely did. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask beforehand.”

“As long as you don’t threaten me first, we’re good.” Sam gawked at the two of them.

“You’re- you’re kidding, right Nadine?” he asked, incredulous. Nadine eyed him for a moment before taking a sip from her coffee.

“As long as he keeps out of my business and doesn’t try to kill us again, I can deal with his presence,” she directed her attention back to Rafe, “As long as you show you’ve grown and act like an actual adult and not a spoiled child, I’m good. I just need to know you have my back in case things go south.”

“Of course, and I would hope you’d do the same for me. Although, hopefully nothing bad will happen during this expedition. You guys don’t have any competition, right?”

“Not yet! I’m surprised that no one has shown up so far, let’s just hope it stays that way,” Chloe exclaimed, finishing off her drink. Rafe nodded.

“So, anything else you guys want that you haven’t already asked about?” Rafe asked, setting his empty cup to the side. There was a moment of silence before Sam spoke up.

“Y’know what, uh, yeah. How are you even alive?” 

“Ah, well, I guess I should have expected that,” the man sighed slightly, rubbing his temples and fiddled with his glasses. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, “Well, I probably should have died when your brother dropped a ton of pirate gold onto me in a burning pirate ship, but I suppose the universe had other plans for me.

“When the ship broke apart, I guess I somehow I ended up out in the water and on the beach, and some Shoreline soldiers found me and dragged me to the nearest hospital. I don’t completely understand why, I think they were hoping to get some more money out of me, but they didn’t stick around for it since I ended up in a coma for around four months. Because of the damage from the gold, they had to amputate my right arm and leg,” he tapped his right hand against the table, “And I was in physical therapy for a long, long time. Prosthetics take a lot of getting used to and I still experience phantom pain. My lungs also experienced damage from the smoke inhalation, so when it comes to intense physical activity, I need to take frequent breaks.

“After that, I killed Rafe Adler. When you have a lot of money, it’s pretty easy to do. Transferred my fortune to my new identity, Rafe Avery. And yeah, I know, it’s weird to take that as my new surname, but felt it was fitting considering what happened. I… regret everything, what happened on that ship. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I just wanted to get away from it all. I moved here, got this job, and made myself a new life. That’s it,” he leaned back in his chair, gaging the others reactions.

“Wow…” Chloe gaped, “I… I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“You’re tough Avery, I’ll give you that. Like a cockroach.”

Rafe rolled his eyes, “Thank you, Nadine,” he turned his attention to Sam, who had stayed silent and was staring at Rafe’s hands, “Anything you’d like to add, Drake?” Sam looked up from the object of his gaze, making eye contact with the man in front of him. He huffed.

“Nothing at all.”

Rafe eyed him before standing up and gathering his things, “Well, I think that’s all. We can talk more about Lyonesse when we meet up again. I’m assuming you have some supplies you want to get, and I want to put in my vacation days in person considering this probably is going to take a while.”

Nadine nodded and stood up, the other two following, “Sounds good to me. Where do you want to meet up?”

“Give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address. It’s a hotel closer to where I believe Lyonesse is,” Nadine gave him all of their numbers, much to Sam’s dismay, and saved his number into her phone.

“Actually,” Chloe spoke up, “you mind if I tag along with you Rafe? It seems like these two know you a lot better than me and I’d like to make up for some time,” Sam’s face continued to scrunch up, still in shock as to how the two women were perfectly fine with all of this.

Rafe raised an eyebrow, skeptical, “Sure, just don’t talk my ear off.”

“No promises, love.”

“While you two do that,” Nadine started, “then, Sam and I will take care of any supplies we need. Might need some diving things considering it’s supposed to be underwater, weapons in case we run into any trouble, and just general exploration items,” she glanced over at him, noticing his sulking, “And hopefully I’ll get him to act like an adult and not an overgrown baby throwing a tantrum,” Sam scoffed, but added nothing. Chloe grinned nonetheless.

“Well, let’s head out!”

***  
“Soooooo, a lot of tension between you and Sam, huh?” Chloe teased, picking up a book on Lyonesse from Rafe’s desk, skimming through the pages but not actually reading anything. Rafe plucked it out of her hands and placed it into his bag before moving onto some notebooks.

“Well, isn’t that to be expected? He did betray me after working together for two years and then we tried to kill each other. There’s not much left between us.”

“But there is something, yeah?”

“No comment,” the brunette muttered, closing his bag and picking up his jacket from his chair, heading out the door. Chloe smirked and followed after.

As Rafe was locking up his office and Chloe was badgering him more about Sam, trying to get something out of him, a voice sounded from the end of the hall.

“Mr. Adler!” called out Jericho.

Rafe looked up, a smile appearing on his face. He pulled his key out of the door and walked over, Chloe trailing behind him.

“I’m glad I caught you before I left, Jericho. I wanted to let you know you could keep that book I let you borrow for a little longer,” he said, noticing said book in the others hands. Jericho smiled gratefully.

“Oh- thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I wasn’t completely done with it, so I’ll appreciate the extra time,” he hesitated a moment, noticing that Rafe seemed to have packed up some things from his office and his companion, before asking, “Uh, what is the, um, the occasion?” 

“Ah, um, just going on a holiday with some old friends of mine,” he stated, gesturing to Chloe behind him, “Jericho, this is Chloe Frazer, Chloe, this is Jericho Suarez,” he stated as the two shook hands and greeted each other.

“I’m glad to see you getting out with some friends, it feels like you practically live here. Gesù Cristo, Lord knows you need a break,” the younger man teased. Rafe rolled his shoulders dismissively.

“You’re not one to judge. When you come here, you basically set up camp in my office.”  
“Oh, chuidi la bocca!” Jericho playfully waved his hand at the other. He opened his mouth to tease Rafe some more, but was interrupted by his phone buzzing. Quickly, he fished his phone out of his pocket, sighing when he read the screen, “I am so sorry, I have to go-”

“That boss of yours is quite demanding, isn’t he?” questioned Rafe.

Jericho let out a groan, “You have no idea. I am so sorry to leave so abruptly,” he shoved his cell back into his jacket pocket and gave a strained smile to the two in front of him, “I’m glad I was able to say goodbye before you left for your trip,” he turned to Chloe, “and it was lovely meeting you! I hope we can talk some more in the future,” he rushed to the door, waving at the two, and they waved back.

“It was my pleasure!” called out Chloe.

“See you, Jericho,” said Rafe as the retreating man closed the door.

“Nice kid,” commented Chloe, her phone suddenly buzzing as well. She pulled it out, reading the message on screen.

“He is.”

“Sam and Nadine are ready and are already at the hotel. You already booked us rooms?”

“I can multitask. Let’s head out.”

“Fantastic.”

***

Sam groaned, flopping himself down onto the couch of their hotel room. Nadine set down the rest of the supplies next to what Sam had brought in with a grunt. As Chloe waltzed in after her, she whistled.

“Wow, you sure do have money, Avery,” she turned around to face him as he closed the door to their room.

“It wasn’t that much.”

“To you, maybe,” Sam mumbled from the couch, his voice slightly muffled from the pillows. Rafe chose to ignore this comment.

The room was spacious, with a soft couch being in the center with a large, flat screen TV attached to the baby blue wall in front of it. Paned windows came down from the ceiling to the floor, showing off the lush Scottish highlands and beautiful oil paintings of the land hung on the walls. Attached to the room were three bedrooms, one for the couple, one for Sam, and one for Rafe.

Rafe hurried to his room, placing his bag down on his bed before returning to the main room. The others were quick to make themselves comfortable, chatting amongst themselves. When Rafe had returned to the room, Sam quickly shut up, returning to his quiet sulking. Chloe and Nadine, who were cuddling together on a big chair beside the couch, locked eyes with each other and gave each other a look. 

Rafe frowned, “You know, Samuel, I don’t expect you to like me, but you don’t have to act like a child and ignore me. You need my help and we need to work together if we ever want to find Lyonesse,” Sam let out a startled laugh.

“You’re joking, right? We would have been perfectly fine without your help, thank you very much.”

“Oh, really? Yet you were looking for help at the library? I know everything a person could and can know about this place, and you would have been searching in the completely wrong area if it weren’t for me.”

“No way, we would have figured it out eventually. And we don’t even know if you’re right. I don’t even know why we are humoring you.”

“Oh, fuck you. Don’t act like you know everything, Samuel, it’s not a good look on you.”

“Okay boys-” Chloe started, but was quickly cut off.

“Me? Acting like I know everything? I think you’re confused. You’re the one that acts like a nosy know-it-all!”

“That was almost three and a half years ago, Drake! I know it may be hard to believe, but I am not the same man I was then! At least I’m capable of changing. You’re the same as you were when I got your sorry ass out of prison.”

Sam stood up from the couch, stalking towards Rafe when Chloe cried out.

“Okay, okay!” Chloe clapped her hands together, “Everyone calm down!” Sam frowned but stopped in his place, his eyes not leaving Rafe’s and vice versa, “You two need to take five, or, God I don’t know, eight hours of fulfilling sleep.”

“More like couples therapy,” deadpanned Nadine.

“I-” Sam started, but Chloe clicked her tongue and held her hand up.

“I am hearing none of it. The two of you, go to bed. Maybe after getting some sleep you’ll kiss and make up,” Sam made a disgusted face, but Rafe just stared at the ground, the only indication that he was listening being him making his way to his room, shutting the door for the night.

Nadine sighed, “Way to go, Drake.”

“Wha- me!? What did I do?”

“I know you hate him, trust me I know, but now is not the time to get into arguments. We need his help, and his money. I hate to say it, but I really think he’s changed. Until he proves otherwise, we have no reason but to believe him,” and with that, Nadine stood up and made her way to her and Chloe’s shared room to prepare for bed. Chloe patted Sam’s shoulder.

“Ease up on him, yeah? I know you two have a lot of bad blood, and I know I just met him, but I think having him on our side will be a good thing,” she gave his shoulder one more pat before following after Nadine, the door to their room fully closing, leaving Sam standing in the middle of the hotel room, alone and confused.


End file.
